


Not just donuts anymore

by silentflux



Series: A Day in the Life [4]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Community: 60damnprompts, Community: gilesxander
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-10-09
Updated: 2008-10-09
Packaged: 2017-10-16 01:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/166981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentflux/pseuds/silentflux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A cuppa and good company</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not just donuts anymore

_**FIC: Not just donuts anymore, BTVS, FRT, Giles, Xander**_  
 **Title:** Not just donuts anymore  
 **Author:** Andrea/[](http://silentflux.livejournal.com/profile)[ **silentflux**](http://silentflux.livejournal.com/)  
 **Fandom:** Buffy the Vampire Slayer  
 **Pairing/character:** Giles, Xander - preslash  
 **Rating:** FRT  
 **Prompt:** Day 4 - "Funeral" and on the Octoberfest's quote "Love is like a tree, it grows of its own accord, it puts down roots into our whole being"  
 **Notes/Warnings:** for October 9th at the[](http://community.livejournal.com/gilesxander/profile)[ **gilesxander**](http://community.livejournal.com/gilesxander/) Octoberfest and [my Giles challenge](http://silentflux.livejournal.com/tag/challenge:+60damnprompts) at [](http://community.livejournal.com/60damnprompts/profile)[**60damnprompts**](http://community.livejournal.com/60damnprompts/) where you write 60 days in the life of a character. Here's [Day 1](http://silentflux.livejournal.com/85759.html), [Day 2](http://silentflux.livejournal.com/111570.html), and [Day 3](http://silentflux.livejournal.com/131915.html). You may want to read them before this fic for a better understanding, but it's not necessary.

Set post Chosen, so there are spoilers for it.

 **Summary:** A cuppa and good company

~ * ~

Giles sighed with relief as he loosened the careful Windsor knot of his tie and pulled the blasted thing over his head, unbuttoning the top of his shirt as he walked deeper into his suite at the Council's compound. The day had been unbearable from the moment he'd risen. His mother had insisted on his presence - familial obligations. And so the entirety of the day had been spent at his uncle's funeral, talking to family that he'd never wanted to see again. The weight of that sort of propriety had never been one he'd worn comfortably despite what the Scoobies had thought of him in Sunnydale.

Lazily, he toed off his shoes and threw his jacket over the nearest chair as he headed to the counter and filled the kettle with water. Pulling the teapot from the cupboards, he filled with hot water from the tap and let it set to warm the pot as he grabbed a cup. Pulling the tea and biscuits from the pantry, he sighed and waited for the water to boil, mind mulling over the events of the day even as he unsuccessfully tried to shove those thoughts way.

Running a hand through his hair, he paused at the pull of fabric and removed his cufflinks to roll up his sleeves, noticing the slight tremor in his fingers. His mother's disapproving gaze had never been comfortable, but today for some reason it just made him want to run back to his office - he hated it. Chuckling to himself, he realized he was less disturbed by a Polgara than he was of his mother. That definitely said something.

The ding of the kettle woke him from his thoughts. Pouring the water from the pot, he measured the tea leaves into the warm teapot before pouring the just boiled water on top. A loud knock at his door almost caused a spill of steaming water.

"Coming!" he called out, finishing and covering the pot before heading to answer. Pulling open the door, he started to find Xander there with a box that smelled suspiciously of Italian food. Eyebrow raised in question, he stood back and allowed the younger man entry. "Xander. What brings you here?"

"Do I need an excuse to visit my favorite Head Watcher?"

Shaking his head, Giles turned back toward his kitchen with a sigh. "Would you like a cuppa?"

"Sure. You know, I never actually thought I'd acquire a taste for the tea, but..." Giles could hear the shrug without turning. "I guess I shouldn't discount anything."

He didn't respond, letting the silence smooth over them both. The Watcher was somewhat surprised that Xander allowed it - all the Scoobies had a natural aversion to silence and stillness. But then, he hadn't spent any extended amount of time around any of them in at least half a year, scattered around the globe as they were.

Reaching up, he pulled another cup down and gathered several of the twinkies he knew were there. He didn't know why he kept them, but at least they didn't go bad often. Arranging them on the plate with his biscuits, he set them on the table along with milk and sugar before turning back to pour the tea. Sitting across from Xander, he fixed his tea, looking up expectantly.

"I - uh - brought dinner," the younger man offered, gesturing to the box he'd left on the other end of the table and shifting under his gaze slightly, nervously pulling a wrapper off one of the twinkies. "I wasn't sure if you'd get a chance to eat."

The thoughtfulness behind the gesture spread warmth through Giles, and he flashed a small smile at his friend, hands wrapping around his cup, for once glad that he decided on larger mugs for his suite - something he'd picked up in America. It gave him something to hold on to. "Thank you."

"S'what I'm here for," came the amused reply. "And hey - it's habit still. At least I brought you real food and not donuts."

Giles laughed softly and nodded, sipping his tea. "Was everything quiet around here?"

"Define quiet. I mean, if you define quiet as absolutely no sign of apocalypse anywhere in the world, it was quiet. But if you actually mean quiet, uh - no." Xander laughed softly as his thoughts cast over the day.

"Well, yes. Having a gaggle of training Watchers and slayers is never really going to be quiet."

"A gaggle?" One dark brow rose and Giles barely controlled his flush and the need to stammer out an excuse, hiding behind his tea as he sipped another bitter mouthful.

"So, _did_ anything happen today?"

"You mean besides Andrew's entire collection of Star Trek and Star Wars disappearing?" Xander asked seriously, only his gleaming eyes giving it away. Giles nearly spit out his latest mouthful at those words, a picture of Andrew in a true geek panic flashing through his mind.

"You didn't!"

"Me? Moi? Would I do that?" Xander intoned, his eye blinking innocently which Giles thought was a hard thing for him to pull off these days. "Besides, I have a rock solid alibi. I was nowhere close to his stash..."

He felt his lips twist into a true smile, eyes sparkling in response to the younger man's mischievousness. Looking up, he saw Xander's slightly stunned expression as he stared at Giles for a moment. "So... how did you do it then?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you..." came the smart response.

"Hmmm, I'm sure. Nothing to do with a certain witch, would it? One who's on her first vacation in the past year?"

"What? Who? I have no idea of that which you speak. I mean, a witch? Huh."

Giles laughed outright then, feeling the weight on his chest break open a bit. "When did you two decide to drive my assistant mad?"

"Well, hypothetically speaking, Andrew might have spelled Willow's familiar into speaking Klingon. And she might have had to listen to his dissertation on said language while trying to break the weird-ass spell. So, we may have possibly colluded to come up with a game." The babbled response rolled over Giles as he deftly absorbed the important words - a skill he'd picked up after having lived in California for so long.

"Ummhmm. And how long is this game?" His eyebrow rose, lips still twitching even as he tried to appear stern.

"Hypothetically, until he 'runs around blithering like the idiot he is'. Or, you know, we get bored." Xander pasted on a blinding smile and Giles couldn't take it anymore - laughter full and bright bursting from somewhere deep, pushing through that weight with light and warmth.

"Dear Lord, he's going to drive us all insane!" he finally gasped out, bright blue eyes meeting brown.

"Nah. I'll protect you, G-man." And everything that had appeared bent and broken, snapped and settled, pushing away the darkness Giles had never even know was there.  



End file.
